When Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. announced a shift last week in how the federal government planned to spend the rest of its $700 financial rescue fund — from buying financial firms’ troubled assets to helping stimulate consumer spending by improving the flow of financing to banks and firms that loan money to individuals — any student loan lobbyist worth his or her salt was probably drafting a letter of support within minutes. The plan suggested that the government was prepared to expand its previously planned efforts to ensure the flow of federal student loans — which Education Secretary Margaret Spellings amp